Tacrolimus in non-Asian patients with SLE: a real-life experience from three European centres

To analyse the real-life practice on the use of Tacrolimus (TAC) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from three European SLE referral centres.

Adult patients with SLE regularly followed at three European referral centres were included. Demographics, cumulative organ involvement, treatment history, Systemic Lupus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), laboratory features and physician's judgement were collected at baseline and at 3-6-12 months after starting TAC.

29 patients were included (89% female, mean age 38±9 years). Ethnicity was predominantly Caucasian (82%), Black African (11%), Hispanic (3.5%) and Caribbean (3.5%). The main indications for TAC prescription were renal involvement (82.7%), arthritis (10.3%), cutaneous manifestations (6.8%), haematological manifestations (6.8%), serositis (3.4%). At 3 months, there was a clinical improvement in 21 patients (72.4%) and 9 of these experienced a complete resolution of symptoms (31%). This corresponds to: (1) a significant decrease in the mean SLEDAI; (2) a significant decrease in the mean 24  hours proteinuria; a significant increase in C3 and stable creatinine values. At 6 months (n=25), the physician declared an improvement in 19 patients (76%) and a complete resolution of symptoms in 9 (36%). The same trend was observed at 12 months of follow-up. TAC was discontinued in nine pts (31%); reasons for discontinuation were inefficacy (13.8%), drug intolerance (10%) and disease remission (6.9%).

Despite the limitation due to the small number of patients and the uncontrolled nature of the study, these data show that TAC can be considered a valid therapeutic option in patients with SLE, especially for renal involvement.